Behind the Smile
by XDioxideX
Summary: After being shot, Tony is given a wakeup call to just how much he has been lying to himself. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic, so PLEASE bear with me! Reviews are greatly appreciated. So... Uh... Here we go!

Tony sighed. It had been a long day, and all he wanted was to go home.

"_Yeah, like that's going to happen anytime soon_." He thought as he began typing a report of the case he had been on. DiNozzo soon found that he couldn't concentrate due to the pain from the bruises and hits he had taken earlier when he had been attacked by a suspect. After running a hand through his hair and staring at the monitor in front of him, he noticed that Ziva and McGee were both about to leave.

"You are leaving soon, Tony?" Ziva asked, walking over and peeking at his screen before looking at him.

"Yeah. I will be." He looked up at her and grinned. "Wouldn't want this to take too long to heal." He motioned at his black eye and the bruise on his jaw. McGee rolled his eyes and started to walk to the elevator.

"Very well. I will be seeing you tomorrow, then." Ziva smiled and followed her coworker to the lift before disappearing behind the sliding doors. DiNozzo looked back at his screen and began to type, his smile fading into a bored look. He never noticed Palmer walk through, eventually followed by Ducky.

"Good night, my dear Anthony. Make sure to get plenty of rest tonight." Tony flinched slightly and looked up at the M.E. He looked tired and ready to go home.

"Yes sir. You too." He gave a slight smile and went back to gazing at his monitor. Doctor Mallard looked at him for a bit longer before nodding and walking out.

After he was gone, DiNozzo realized that Gibbs and Abby were still around somewhere. Tony assumed that the two of them were just going over some kind of evidence, taking in more caffeine and sugar than any normal person should. He smiled to himself absentmindedly, thinking about how his boss and coffee were inseparable, just like Abs and her Caf-Pow drinks.

Soon after, he found that he had begun to nod off and tried to shake himself awake, but found his head drooping more and more as the minutes ticked past. He suddenly jerked awake as a steaming cup of coffee was pushed in front of his nose. Tony looked up and saw Gibbs gazing at him.

"Sorry boss. Won't happen again." He mumbled, taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"No apologies, DiNozzo." was the only response the senior field agent received. He rubbed a hand over his face, staring at the almost finished report in front of him. He took another drink and started typing again, eventually finishing the paper. When he glanced at the clock, it was nearly midnight.

Tony silently packed up his things and went down to Abby's lab to say goodbye for the night. She enthusiastically hugged him and kissed his cheek, then let him go. He went back up through the bullpen and grabbed his backpack before heading to the elevator and going to the parking garage.

He had parked a few spaces down from his boss, and was putting his bag in his beloved Mustang when he noticed a shadowy figure approaching him. He tried to grab his gun, but couldn't get to it before a loud gunshot was heard, and a searing pain went through his right shoulder. Tony staggered backwards, his vision going fuzzy. The man who had shot him ran up and brought the butt of his pistol down on his temple, hard enough to knock him down. DiNozzo stared up at his attacker, trying to get his eyesight to focus. His hearing was also screwed up, and he blinked.

"Who-who the heck are you?!" He grated out, pressing a hand to his shoulder. Hot, sticky blood covered and seeped through his fingers. Through his blurry vision, Tony could see that the man had a ski mask and hoodie on. He slowly, stealthily reached his good hand down to his holster, then quickly pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the shooter. His hand was shaking violently, and his eyesight was still bad, and he fired off a shot. It missed the man, and he started to run.

After shooting two more times after him, completely missing the fleeing figure both times, he was gone. Tony continued to aim the gun into the shadows, but no one came out. He began to feel faint and numb, barely registering the sound of his pistol clattering to the floor beside him. The last thing DiNozzo heard was Abby's seemingly far away shriek of his name before the darkness closed around him, sucking him into nothingness.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

WOW. Thank you guys SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH! All of your reviews and watches are SO appreciated! I'll try to update this as quickly as possible, but school tends to get in the way of that from time to time. (8TH GRADE. Y U NO LUFFS ME?)

It had hardly been five minutes since Tony left when Abby went up to the bullpen and started going on about this bad feeling she had. Gibbs frowned, knowing that Abs was usually right when she had a hunch on something. She wouldn't stop talking about how worried she was about DiNozzo and that they should go and check on him.

"Come on! We should go check! Poor Tony could be hurt or in trouble!" She was exclaiming. Gibbs stood up.

"Alright. We'll go check." He hardly had time to brace himself for the tight hug that she threw around his neck. She gave him a squeeze and stepped back, then hurried him to the elevator. They went down to the parking garage and were shocked at what they saw.

"Tony!" Abby shrieked, running over to the limp form on the ground. Dark red was beginning to puddle around his right side, and his pistol was lying underneath his left hand. Gibbs rushed over and pulled his coat off, pressing it to the wound and pulling out his phone. He pressed it into Abby's hands and told her to call 911 as he lightly shook Tony. No response.

"Come on, DiNozzo. Wake up." He murmured, pressing two fingers to the younger man's neck and checking for a pulse. There was one, but it was starting to go faint. The paramedics arrived nearly a minute later and took over. They asked what had happened, but they only knew that Tony had been shot and pistol whipped.

Fifteen minutes later, Abby was curled up against Gibbs' side in the ER. She had done so as soon as he sat down on the couch. Hardly anyone else was in the room, and Abs was practically worried sick. She hadn't really said anything since they arrived, and Gibbs knew she was trying to figure out what had happened, and who could have done it.

It was nearly two hours before the doctor came out and told them about Tony's condition. He had had to have blood transfusions and surgery to fix the broken bones in his shoulder and get him stable again. Abby jumped up when the man said that they could visit him. Gibbs stood up and followed her and the doctor to DiNozzo's room.

The senior field agent looked pitiful. With a new bruise on his temple and bandages covering his shoulder and wrapped around his chest, he seemed smaller and more defenseless. The dark rings under his eyes only added to that effect. Abby sat down in one of the chairs next to his bed and watched him worriedly. Gibbs flicked the TV on and sat down in the seat next to Abs. She pulled his phone out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"I guess you want this back…" She mumbled. He put the device in his pocket and sighed.

"Whoever did this isn't going to get away with it." Gibbs growled quietly. Abby glanced over at him and saw the set in his jaw, showing how furious he was. He stood up and walked out, getting his phone and calling Director Vance to tell him about the situation. Abby gazed at her feet and exhaled, twirling one of her braids absentmindedly.

She looked up as Tony stirred slightly. He blinked, groaning slightly as the light hit his eyes.

"Tony!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him around the neck. She released a few moments later and smiled. "You're awake!" He looked around the room tiredly.

"Did you find who did it?" He rasped. Abs picked up the cup of ice chips on the bedside table and let him have one. Tony swallowed it once it melted, feeling the water cool his throat.

"No. They were gone long before we found you." Gibbs said, walking in. "We have no idea who it was or why they did it. I've got a feeling it's not related to the case from yesterday." DiNozzo closed his eyes and sighed, feeling the pounding in his head start to increase. His shoulder hurt like heck, and he bit his lip lightly as the doctor walked in.

"How are you feeling, Agent DiNozzo?" He asked.

"Like crap." was the only response the doctor received. He adjusted a few things on Tony's IV and turned to Gibbs and Abby.

"I'm putting him on some painkillers, so he should be getting sleepy soon. Feel free to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat." He smiled and walked out. Gibbs tipped his head back and rested it on the wall behind him as Abby yawned. Tony closed his eyes and eventually dozed off. Abby stayed awake, watching him. Her boss pulled out his phone and called Ziva, then McGee. Both of them were in the room within thirty minutes.

"What happened?" Ziva demanded.

"Got shot." Tony grumbled, half awake. "Dunno who it was, either."

"Go back to sleep." Abby grabbed his hand and kissed his forehead.

"How bad? How long will he be out?" McGee asked, looking concerned.

"He almost died, and he'll—" Abs was interrupted by DiNozzo's comment.

"Long enough for you to get lonely without me, McConcerned." He grinned. "Because we all know how much you depend on me to brighten your day." McGee rolled his eyes at the joke as Abby lightly punched Tony's arm.

"You interrupted me! That was rude! Say you're sorry!" She scolded, looking at him with agitation.

"I'm sorry, Abs." He gave her a remorseful look, then smiled as her face brightened. He yawned, and Abby started to shoo Ziva and McGee out, saying that he needed rest and that they would only wake him up if they hung around. Both of them complied, wishing Tony a good recovery.

Eventually, even Abby went home. Gibbs fell asleep soon after, only waking up when a nurse came in to check on DiNozzo. He decided to go get his morning coffee from the cafeteria, returning five minutes later with the steaming cup. Tony had woken up and was looking around. He nodded slightly as his boss walked in.

"Morning, boss." He looked at his hand, letting out a small laugh. "I never noticed how stupid my hand looks. See?" He held up his left hand, shaking it slightly. Gibbs rolled his eyes, knowing how painkillers affected the senior field agent. He continued to talk and babble about nonsense, a dumb smile on his face one moment, then a glare the next. Ziva came in for a visit around ten in the morning, and was surprised when Tony flung some of the eggs he had been given for breakfast at her.

"Tony! What on the world are you doing?" She exclaimed, wiping the slimy food off of her jacket.

"I thought you were an invader from the outside. And it's what on _earth_ are you doing." He gave a dumb giggle as Gibbs watched the two of them with an amused look in his eyes. Ziva glanced at him.

"Painkillers?" Her boss nodded as Tony turned the TV on.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter three! Again, thanks SO much for all the reviews! Love you guys! REVIEW RESPONSE TIME.

DS2010: Yessss. That scene in whatever episode it is when Tony is on painkillers with a broken nose is hilarious. One of my favorites. The food throwing was just randomness.

CALLEN37: Thank you! I have so many ideas going through my head at the moment. NO IDEA WHICH TO CHOOSE XD

prince-bishop: Thanks! I hope Ziva likes eggs too.

Long Live BRUCAS: Yes. Poor, poor Tony. AND YASSS. HE WILL BE OUT SOON. Ohhhhhh the suspense...

SHTOWEEE TIME!

It was another five days before Tony was released from the hospital. Gibbs had volunteered to keep him at his house until they could be sure he was safe. They had taken Tony off of the painkillers a day before he could leave, just to be sure he wouldn't be too loopy.

He knew it would be a long week off from work, and had no idea how he would spend his time at Gibbs' house.

"_Heck! I bet that he doesn't even have a DVD player or Dish. How am I going to entertain myself?_" He thought, zoning out. He never noticed that they had pulled up at his boss's house until the man snapped a finger in front of his face. He flinched, coming out of his thoughts.

"Sorry boss. Thinking." He adjusted his sling and got out of the car, ignoring when Gibbs scolded him about his no apologies rule. Tony waited for Jethro to open the door before going inside and plopping down on the couch, stifling a yawn. He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling, starting to think again. Gibbs left him alone and grabbed his bags from the car, tossing them on the floor beside the couch.

Tony eventually dozed off, and Jethro left to go back to work. He knew that Tony could take care of himself. As he walked off of the elevator, he noticed just how quiet it was without his senior field agent. Once he sat down, McGee was talking about how he had been going through the files on the case, and had looked over the security footage from the night Tony had been shot. It all seemed to lead to dead ends.

Frustrated, Gibbs slammed his hand down on his desk.

"This man can't be a ghost! Find him!" He barked. Tim and Ziva flinched, averting their gaze back to their computer screens. The tension in the room was high, and all of them were tired.

Ziva's computer suddenly froze, and she started forcefully pressing the keys on her keyboard. It only made the situation worse, and she eventually brought her fist down on top of the thing. The screen crackled and turned to static before finally shutting off.

"Stupid machine! Just work!" She yelled as McGee walked over.

"Move." He said, anger evident in his voice. After restarting the whole thing and fixing a few errors, he went back to his seat. No one spoke for a while until Tim called Gibbs to his desk.

"I think I found a lead, boss." He put the image up on the big screen while Ziva got up and walked over to stand in front of it. Jethro did the same. "This man's name is Kyle Horton." The TV showed a younger looking man with dark, curly hair. He had dark brown eyes and tan skin. Gibbs looked at McGee.

"And..?"

"No criminal record, never married, both of his parents died in a car accident when he was seventeen." A few images of news reports and a horrible car crash came up on the screen. "He's twenty-nine now. Lived in Baltimore at the same time Tony did. He was actually the first responder to the crash. Kyle might have some hard feelings towards him for not saving his parents, even though there was nothing he could do."

"Any other family?" Ziva asked. Tim nodded and put up two pictures. One was of a pretty blonde girl, the other of a dark haired man who looked only a bit younger than Kyle.

"Our blondie here is Emiley Hossfeld. She's Horton's aunt, who took him and his brother in after they were orphaned. The other man is his sibling, Jacob. The man in the security video matches Kyle's height and build, but we can't be sure." Gibbs studied the images for a moment before turning to McGee.

"I want phone records from all three of them." He grabbed his coat off of his desk. "Ziva, on me. We're going to go talk to our suspect." Gibbs swiftly walked towards the elevator, Ziva following.

It was a silent ride to the man's house. Neither one of them felt like speaking. When they finally arrived and knocked on the door, their suspect was the one to answer. He seemed to become nervous when they showed their badges.

"I don't see what's going on. I didn't do nothing." Kyle said after Gibbs explained the situation to him.

"You sure about that?" Jethro asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Wasn't Agent DiNozzo the first responder to your parent's fatal accident?" The man gulped, looking down.

"Y-yes." He was twitching slightly, sweat beading on his forehead. "But I don't hold anything against him. Why would I?"

"Because he didn't save them." Ziva said.

"I swear! I don't have nothing against him!" Horton was sweating badly and constantly adjusting his collar now. Gibbs glanced at the other agent just as the man collapsed. He was dead before he hit the ground.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

OKAY. Sorry to say this, but my dad has put some new security stuff on the internet. So I CANNOT access the site from home. Thankfully, they have block free wifi at school. Therefore, I will only be posting new chapters and updates during the week. :(

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: MEBBE... MEBBE NOT...

DS2010: Ducky's going to be talking to a few people….. :)

moira4eku: Thanks! You'll find out in this chapter…

angelscatie: Will do!

The whole team was frustrated. Their most likely suspect in Tony's shooting had just died at their feet. McGee had been working all afternoon on any other possible links, and Abby had been doing ballistics testing to find the gun used. Ducky and Palmer were now involved as well, working overtime to find the cause of Kyle Horton's death.

Horton had seemed like their man. The figure seen in the grainy security footage taken on the night of the shooting had looked so much like him, and he had been nervous when Gibbs and Ziva had showed up at his door. Now they couldn't get anything out of him because he was, well, dead.

That narrowed it down to two prime suspects. Horton's younger brother, Jacob, and his aunt, Emily Hossfeld. After a meeting with Director Vance, Gibbs was taking McGee and Ziva to the aunt's house. Their main purpose was to tell about her nephew being dead. The other point of their mission was to ask her a few questions about DiNozzo, and if she had met him or even knew who he was.

After arriving at the small house and knocking on the door, Gibbs could see something was up. It looked deserted. Even though there was a car in the driveway and a few lights on, no movement showed inside. After five minutes of waiting, they finally kicked the door in and cleared the house. No one was there, and it looked like they had left almost a week ago. Jethro growled.

"She knew we were coming." He said. McGee looked around as Ziva walked over to a cabinet and picked something up.

"Gibbs. She left her phone." Ziva knew that Tony would have some kind of reason for why the woman had left it, but her mind was running a blank. She was running on fumes, and needed to go home and sleep.

"She doesn't want us to find her or track her signal. Even if we did track her phone, we'd come to this." McGee muttered, deep in thought. Gibbs began to walk through the house again, watching for any clues. His phone suddenly rang, with Abby's name in the caller ID. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"You find anything?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

"I did, actually. The gun used was bought a LONG time ago."

"How long ago, Abs? I need specifics." Gibbs began to pace.

"In 1994, to be exact. It was bought by Horton's father, and kept in their safe for the longest time until the car accident killed him. Then he took the gun and has had ownership over it since then. The pistol itself is a Glock 9mm." Abby responded. She sounded excited.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. Ducky found the cause of death for our man. He had taken in cyanide somehow. We can't tell if it was suicide or if it was murder."

"Good. That opens up some—" Gibbs was cut off as something crashed down the hallway. "I'll get back to you on that…" He hung up and pulled out his pistol, silently slipping down the hall and into the living room.

Ziva and McGee were chasing Jacob Horton down the block. Jethro ran outside and started up the car, screeching out of the driveway and down the street, after the others. After chasing him for three blocks and running through a creek after the man, Ziva and Tim managed to take him down and handcuff him. They came out of the woods, panting and wet as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.

They all got in the Dodge Charger and went back to base. As soon as they arrived, Gibbs took the suspect to an interrogation room while Ziva and McGee ate their dinner in silence.

"So, Jacob. Tell me. Do you know who this man is?" Jethro held up a picture of Tony. The younger man shook his head. He was much calmer than his older brother had been.

"I don't know him, sir." Gibbs put the picture down in front of him.

"You sure? Not from Baltimore, or anywhere else?" His voice was quiet and menacing.

"Yes. I'm sure that I have never seen him before."

"This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. He was attacked and shot in the shoulder last Monday night. Your brother Kyle was thought to be involved."

"I had no idea this happened." Jacob kept his gaze steady.

"Kyle died earlier today from cyanide poisoning." Horton's eyes widened.

"Do what?! He's dead?" Gibbs nodded, letting the fact sink in. He eventually cleared his throat.

"Why did you run earlier?"

"I-I thought that they were burglars. I had no idea, I swear!" Jethro gazed at him, his face an unreadable mask. Jacob's eyes were glittering with unshed tears, and he quickly wiped at them.

"Alright. You can go. But stay in touch with us." Gibbs got up and walked out, letting the security guard take care of the rest. He walked down to the bullpen, his jaw clenched tight in frustration and pent up anger. Ziva had left, leaving just McGee. He was silently looking through the records involving the Horton and Hossfeld families.

"Go home, McGee. You've done enough for one day." Tim looked up at him as he quietly said so, getting his things together. The computer geek nodded and grabbed his backpack before heading out. Gibbs finished going over a few things before heading back to his house. The first thing he noticed was how quiet the house was, even though DiNozzo was somewhere inside.

After taking his jacket off and draping it over the back of a chair, he glanced around; finally seeing Tony sprawled across the couch. He was fast asleep with his mouth wide open and snoring quietly. Jethro shook his head, amused, and quickly made himself something to eat. He took it down to the basement and ate before starting to work on his boat. It was his stress relief.

After about an hour, he heard a cry upstairs. Gibbs pulled his pistol out and silently went up the stairs, expecting to find Tony with a knife at his throat, or worse. All that he saw was the agent sitting bolt upright on the couch, a sheen of cold sweat over his skin. His green eyes darted around frantically, finally stopping on Jethro. He relaxed slightly and looked at the floor, trying to calm his racing heart. The older man holstered his pistol and sat down next to him. They stayed in silence like that for nearly five minutes before Gibbs spoke up.

"Nightmare?" He murmured.

"Yeah. About the shooting." Tony replied. He kept looking at his feet.

"Mm. Anything else?" Jethro looked at him. DiNozzo shook his head, running a hand through his damp hair.

"No." He paused. "Did you guys find anything on the case?" He looked up.

"Yeah. We went to see a suspect earlier. The man died right in front of us."

"His name?"

"Kyle Horton."

Tony paused again. "I was there when his parents died. Had to tell him what happened."

"His younger brother isn't involved, but we don't know about his aunt yet." Gibbs lightly patted his shoulder. "Go back to sleep. You need it." He got up and went back downstairs as DiNozzo laid down again. Nothing else happened for the rest of the night.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

REVIEWS:

angelscatie: Thanks! You are SUCH an encouragement!

Long Live BRUCAS: :D

NCIS Fan: Yessss. It issssss. And I'm really not kidding when I say that I'm in 8th grade. I just love to write! And my dad tends to be very strict about that kind of stuff, so yeah.

It was another two days before the team could get anything done. Even though Tony seemed pretty useless at desk work due to his chatty nature and mischievous behavior, he helped them out a lot. Everything seemed to be much slower and boring without him around.

McGee finally got a hit on Hossfeld's whereabouts on the third day. She had been seen in a convenience store that morning with Jacob, buying a disposable phone. Ziva was ready to go, but Gibbs made the team hold off. He wanted to watch their behavior a bit longer before he actually did something.

McGee had tracked the store's sales and found the phone that Emiley had bought. He found the number for it and began to track it. The only calls being made were to customers at her flower shop.

"Nothing good, boss. Just business calls for her shop," McGee reported. "They must be trying to cover their tracks." Gibbs seemed deep in thought, gazing at the phone numbers on Tim's screen from over his shoulder.

"Has she repeated any calls?" He finally asked.

"No sir."

"Alright. Ziva, on me." Jethro stood up straight again and grabbed his jacket and coffee from his desk. The Israeli followed him to the elevator.

Once inside, she looked up at him.

"Where are we going?"

"Hossfeld's flower shop." The rest of the elevator ride was silent.

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing in front of a small, brightly decorated flower shop called "Emiley's Place." Gibbs and Ziva went inside, acting as if they were looking for a certain type of bouquet.

"This is something Tony would do. He's the one that always blends so well," she murmured, casting a quick glance around to look for Hossfeld. The small, blonde haired woman was talking to a customer, leading them around the shop. Gibbs casually walked towards the same end of the store, watching them closely, even though it was nowhere near obvious. Ziva moved towards the back door strategically.

Jethro noticed Emiley pass a small note to the man who she was talking to before smiling and showing him a bunch of brightly colored flowers. He decided to purchase them, and followed her to the register.

After paying, the man left the store. Ziva quietly slipped out, making sure to watch what car he went to and writing the plates down on her notepad. She leaned against the outside wall, waiting for Gibbs, who was probably talking to Hossfeld at the moment.

It was ten minutes before he came out, carrying nothing.

"Did you get anything?" He murmured as they walked back to their vehicle.

"Plate numbers and a good look at the man."

"Good girl." Gibbs smiled slightly as he slid down into the Charger. Ziva sat down on the passenger side and buckled her seatbelt. They drove back to headquarters quietly talking about the case.

When they walked out of the elevator, they noticed Ducky talking to McGee. Gibbs approached them as Ziva sat down at her desk.

"Ah, Jethro. I have made a huge discovery as to why our man had taken cyanide. Follow me." Duck started to walk off; glancing back to be sure that the ex marine was following.

Once they were in the autopsy room, Dr. Mallard showed Gibbs an image of the contents of Horton's stomach on the day he had died.

"It was a very deliberate suicide. You see, the man ate absolutely nothing that day. If he had been poisoned, he would have at least eaten something. And you also described his behavior as very nervous and jittery when you met him, which hints that he never wanted to be found."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "That means that Horton was almost definitely the one who shot Tony. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so scared of us, and he wouldn't have poisoned himself to hide the evidence. Good job, Duck. Tell me if you find anything else." He turned to leave.

"Oh, and Jethro. Be sure to watch Anthony carefully. Whoever else is involved may send another man to finish the job."

"I know." Gibbs walked out of the room and bumped into McGee in his rush to get off of the elevator.

"Oh! Boss! I was looking for you. I found out who Hossfeld handed the slip to."

"So you're saying that Kyle didn't finish the job?!"

"No. Agent DiNozzo is still alive." The man said quietly, knowing that the person on the other end of the line was going to be seriously ticked. After listening to them yell about his brother's incompetence, their sentences laced with unprintable words, Jacob Horton turned to his aunt. She nodded, and he hung up before throwing his cell phone out into the Atlantic. They turned around to walk off, only to be faced by three NCIS agents with their pistols at the ready.

"Hands up," Gibbs growled as he took a step forward. The two relatives put their hands in the air. McGee and Ziva moved forward and began to cuff both of them, Ziva taking care of Hossfeld while Tim did Jacob. What he didn't expect was the hard punch to the jaw that knocked him out, causing him to fall into the water. His coat and heavy clothing weighed his unconscious body down, making him sink.

Cliffhanger much? TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry I never posted yesterday. I was sick and couldn't go to school. But I'm fine now. Also—I have some ideas for a new story, so be expecting that soon!

REVIEWS:

jules4312: Thanks!

Long Live BRUCAS: This chapter kind of reminds me of a song I've heard. "Look at little Tim Tim sleeping so sound. WAKE UP TIM TIM WHAT IF THERE'S A MONSTER!" :D

angelscatie: I've gotten myself hooked on this story. XD

As Ziva clicked the cuffs shut around Hossfeld's wrists, she heard a splash in the water below. She made Emiley sit and looked up, seeing only Jacob and Gibbs fighting. McGee was nowhere to be seen. Had he fallen in the water?

"Ziva! Take care of Horton!" Gibbs yelled, shoving the suspect backwards and taking a running dive into the water. Jacob got up and glared at Ziva, pulling out a knife. She quickly pulled out her pistol and aimed it at his chest.

"Put the knife down." She said, nodding her head at the dock. The man paused slightly, as if considering another option. "Put it down!"

Horton quickly complied after hearing the tone of her voice, and she had him in handcuffs soon after. Ziva looked down into the water, unable to see Gibbs or McGee in the murky depths.

A moment later, Jethro surfaced, gulping in air before diving down again. She glanced back at the two suspects, who appeared very sullen and mad. There was a movement in the water below, and Ziva saw Gibbs starting to shove McGee onto the deck. She grabbed his collar and hauled him on as her boss clambered onto the wood.

He checked Tim's pulse and instantly began CPR after he felt nothing. Less than a minute later, McGee was coughing up water. Ziva walked the two suspects to their car, making them sit in the back.

When she returned, Gibbs was helping Tim stand up, then walk to the vehicle. Both of them were sopping wet and freezing cold in the chilly February weather, but alive.

Tony was trying to sleep on the couch when he heard a car door slam outside. He sat up and peered out of the window, knowing it wasn't Gibbs. When he saw someone stepping out, he grabbed his phone and pistol and went downstairs.

Crouching underneath the steps, he pulled out his phone and tried calling Gibbs. The call went straight to voicemail. He frowned and tried calling McGee. Still no answer. After finally calling Ziva, he got a response.

"Yes, Tony? Is something the matter?" She asked.

Tony could hear the man walk into the house above him. "Get to Gibbs' house _now_. Someone's here." He hissed.

Ziva paused for a moment, and he could hear her talking to someone in the background. "We will be there as soon as possible." She hung up, leaving DiNozzo to wait. He made sure that the pistol had some rounds in it, and then squeezed himself farther into the corner he was in. His shoulder was hurting from the sudden movement of getting up to go downstairs and being pressed against the wall.

Five minutes passed, and he could hear the man upstairs going through everything. There was a click next to the door to the stairs, and Tony stiffened up. The door was slowly opened, and DiNozzo tightened his grip on the pistol in his hand.

"Come out; come out wherever you are…" The man growled, coming down the stairs. Every thump of his foot made Tony flinch. "I know you're down here somewhere."

When the intruder stopped at the bottom of the stairs he cocked his gun. "Ready for a bullet in your skull?" Beginning to pace, he chuckled. "Who's going to feel sorry for you when they find you in a pool of your own blood? No one. You've got no family, no true friends. That team of yours only keeps you because you're useful."

Tony narrowed his eyes, which were lit with rage. The man started walking through the basement, checking almost everywhere. He took his time, but was always right behind something too thick to shoot through. This was all a game to him.

Tony heard the tiniest of footsteps upstairs, and realized that the others were there. Thankfully, the man didn't hear. Otherwise he would have bailed. There were two pairs of feet above him, and DiNozzo knew exactly who they belonged to.

At that moment, the intruder turned and saw him. "Well, Agent DiNozzo. Looks like our game of hide and seek is over."

"Yeah, I guess it is. Do I get any last words or something like that?" The man had his head lined up in the sights.

"No."

"C'mon. Just let me have a little fun before I die!" Tony stalled. He was starting to wonder when Gibbs and Ziva would come down and save the day.

"You've already had too much fun playing with me." The man's grip tightened on the trigger.

"Put the gun down." The man froze as two figures came down the staircase, both aiming their own pistols at him. "Do it! Now!" Gibbs commanded.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is probably going to be more Tony whump. :D Haven't decided yet.

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: Just have to wait and see! :3

DS2010: Not at all, my friend. Not at all.

The room was deathly quiet. The only sounds that Tony could hear were his own heartbeat and the steady dripping of water from somewhere above him. Was it coming from Gibbs or Ziva?

The tension in the room was extremely high as the man made a move to set his pistol down. Instead of placing the object on the floor, he chucked it at Tony. It hit his shoulder hard, and he made a noise, dropping his own pistol and pressing his good hand to the bandages covering the stitches. Ziva was on top of the attacker in a second, laying a hard elbow to his face and kicking him in the thigh.

His boss was next to him in another moment, waving a hand in front of his face. Tony was feeling slightly woozy, and his hand was warm and sticky.

"DiNozzo! Snap out of it!" He heard. It sounded fuzzy to him. He felt his hand being moved out of the way, and then felt a hard pressure on his shoulder. The instantaneous pain brought him straight back to reality. Ziva turned around from cuffing the intruder, her eyes widening when she saw the dark red stain spreading on the bandages.

"Did the pistol hit you here?" Gibbs murmured, keeping the pressure up on the wound. Tony nodded.

"I'll call 911." Ziva said, pulling out her phone and dialing the number.

It was three hours later when DiNozzo was released from the hospital. The stitches in his shoulder had been reopened, and it should have added another week onto his recovery time. But Gibbs was done taking risks with his senior field agent's life. He let Tony go to the office, but he had to be supervised at all times.

The team figured out that the latest attacker was, in fact, not their main target. He was just another hired gun. Caleb Koons was his name, and he was Horton's second cousin through Hossfeld.

"What, is everyone and their uncle's dog in on this?" Tony asked.

Ziva shook her head. "You really made them angry, even though you did nothing."

"Is there anyone else involved that we know of?" He looked at the man's mug shot.

"There is one other man, but we have not been able to track his location or data yet."

"So you don't even know his name?"

Gibbs swiftly walked in. "Can't find that out if McGee isn't around."

"Actually, we can. I found an email address in his laptop that says otherwise." Abby walked in, tablet in hand. She held it up, showing the three of them a Gmail account. "They communicated through this account."

"But the inbox is empty," Ziva said, looking slightly confused.

"Exactly! Both of them could access the account whenever they wanted, which meant that they could look at _everything_ on it. Including the drafts. Google can't read your draft emails, so you're safe from prying eyes."

"So they would type a message in the drafts, then wait for the other to sign on and read it, then type a response?" Tony asked.

"Correct. I can try to track the computer that the drafts were being typed at, but it won't be as fast as it would be with McGee."

"Where is Probie, anyways?"

"Home. He almost drowned earlier." Ziva said. "That was why Gibbs was soaked when we went to help you."

"Ah." Was Tony's only response. He seemed to go deep into thought, and no one bothered him about it. He was showing at least some kind of respect and care for the MIT grad.

"Have there been any recent drafts?" Gibbs asked.

"Let me check." Abby refreshed the page and smiled. "Bingo. There's a new draft. I'll read it." She paused for a moment before clearing her throat. It drew Tony's attention back to her. "It's from our man. 'Is it done?' That's all it says."

"Good job, Abs." Gibbs kissed her forehead and patted her shoulder. "Now go find him." She smiled sweetly and hurried to the elevator.

Will they finally crack the case? TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Here's chapter 8! Enjoy!

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: You know Gibbs' rule! If you think someone is after you, they are.

angelscatie: YES MASHTER! ;)

DS2010: I heard of doing the gmail stuff on some other crime show, I think. Not sure, though. Most likely saw it on the internets.

jules4312: Thanks!

"Do you think we're finally going to find this guy, Boss?" Tony asked, looking over at Gibbs.

He shrugged. "Hopefully."

"I wonder if it's one of your old girlfriends, Tony." Ziva smiled playfully.

"Wouldn't be surprised. Some of those girls were-" DiNozzo was cut off by a sharp smack on the back of his head. "-crazy." His voice came out as a squeak.

After thirty minutes of going through Horton, Hossfeld, and Koons' files and records, Gibbs went down to give Abby another Caf-Pow and check up on her. She had been working hard, and had found the man's name.

"Gibbs! It's Horton's aunt's cousin's dad!" She exclaimed, taking a drink of her Caf-Pow.

"I need his name, Abs."

"Graham Baker. I don't know what kind of history he has with Tony, if any at all." Abby said. She took another sip of her drink.

"Pictures?" Gibbs leaned over her shoulder as she typed in the man's name for a search. The results were police mug shots. "Good girl. I'll get Ziva and Tony on it as soon as possible." He kissed her cheek and walked out.

"Ziva, I need you to search for a Graham Baker. I want police records, phone calls, credit card purchases, everything."

"Will do." She replied, putting the man's name in and starting to search for his records.

"DiNozzo, go down and see if Duck will check on you. The doctors at the hospital said you needed monitoring." Gibbs ordered.

"But,"

He was cut off by a sharp motion towards the elevator. Tony got up. "On it, Boss." The senior field agent walked out.

Gibbs went to the interrogation rooms a few moments after receiving an email from Director Vance to go and talk to Koons. When he walked into the dimly lit room, the suspect narrowed his eyes.

The man sneered at the file he set down. "What, do you think you're going to guilt me into this? Don't try to lie and say that I could have taken Agent DiNozzo from his two kids and a wife, because he has neither one."

"I suggest that you spit out all that you know, or I'll go talk to your cousin. I'm sure that she'll say everything." Gibbs said, a menacing tone in his voice.

Koons paused. "Fine. I'll tell you what you want."

"Well, Anthony my dear boy, you are fine to go back and work. Remember not to do any strenuous activities, either." Duck said, patting Tony's good shoulder.

He smiled. "Thanks, Ducky." DiNozzo stood up and was about to walk out when Doctor Mallard cleared his throat.

"And no more getting in trouble with the extensive Horton family." The M.E. smiled and waved him off. "Now hurry on. I'm sure that Ziva will want some assistance."

"Got it." Tony stepped onto the elevator and went back to the bullpen.

Ziva was nowhere to be seen, at least for the time being. He sat down at his desk and started to type, but stopped. He was thinking of Kate, and what she had left behind. Ducky's words had reminded him of that eventful day that led to the other agent's death.

_What would I leave if I died today?_


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! Love you guys!

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: Tony is Tony. Therefore, Tony thinks like Tony. And Tony thinks that Tony should beat Tony up over everything. So Tony is Tony, and Tony thinks that way. Tony also thinks that the person making him think like Tony is going to make Koons give up the info in this chapter and solve the mystery.

mstictac: Thanks! You should read my new story "How to Save a Life." It focuses on Tony as well.

As Ziva walked in, she noticed that Tony had zoned out again. It was unusual for him to do so, especially more than once in a day. She frowned slightly as she sat down, but said nothing. The other agent would probably pick on her if she disturbed him.

When he snapped out of it and started typing, he didn't say anything or acknowledge her presence. Ziva knew that he was thinking about something big and important to him.

"Thank you for your assistance and cooperation." Gibbs growled, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Koons had been very uncooperative, but he had eventually told about the whole thing. He walked out of the interrogation room and nodded at Director Vance, who had been observing.

Gibbs went down to Abby's lab and told her the name of the man who was behind the whole thing. "William Leavitt." He said.

"Got it, Gibbs." She typed the name in and let the computer do the work.

An image of a man with brown, curly hair and glasses popped up. His records showed that he had lived in Baltimore, then moved to D.C., and had been arrested multiple times for drunk driving and various other violations.

"Looks like this has something to do with DiNozzo after all." Abby said. "I'll find his address."

"Good girl, Abs. Send me the numbers when you can." Gibbs kissed her head and walked out.

When he sat down at his desk, he noticed how quiet it was.

"DiNozzo lose his voice again?" He asked.

"No, Boss. Just working." Tony responded.

Gibbs' phone went off, and he looked at the text. "Ziva, on me. We're going to go find our guy." He got up and swiftly walked to the elevator, the other agent on his heels.

Once the doors closed, she spoke up. "What do you think Tony is thinking about?"

"Probably beating himself up about causing trouble for everyone else."

"NCIS. Open the door." Gibbs commanded, banging on the front door to the house. Ziva was standing next to him; hand on the butt of her pistol.

No one answered, and he nodded at the younger woman. She stood next to the door, drawing her pistol. He kicked it in and pulled his own gun. They went through the house, searching for the suspect.

There was a gunshot, and Gibbs faltered. He pressed a hand to his lower leg, and Ziva ran in. William Leavitt was standing, pistol pressed to the other man's temple.

"Drop the weapon." He said, motioning at the floor. She began to lower to the floor, putting her hands up. Ziva set the gun down and looked at him.

"Put your knives down, too."

There was a small clatter as she dropped the two knives onto the ground.

"Kick them over here." She nudged the weapons over to his feet. He snatched Gibbs' gun away and released him.

Leavitt watched the two of them as Gibbs sat down on the floor. His leg was bleeding badly, but not enough to kill. The bullet had gone in just below his calf.

The suspect took their phones, and then locked them in the room. It was in the center of the house, with no windows. He had even gone so far as to take the doorknob off of that side of the door. All that there was in the room was a jug of water, box of granola bars, a couple of blankets, and a few pillows.

"He knew we were coming." Gibbs muttered.


	10. Chapter 10

Wow. I've been getting so many reviews and follows! Thanks so much! Also—sorry that I never posted yesterday! I didn't have the time to after school.

REVIEWS:

DS2010: Yeah. Don't you just love it when that happens?

Long Live BRUCAS: …Yes…

Scat210: WE SHALL SEE!

Guest: Thanks! :)

TheNaggingCube: Yesh. Uh oh is the perfect thing to say in that case.

kbor: VERY INTERESTING INDEED.

Ziva grabbed one of the blankets and started ripping it up. Once she had what she wanted, she used the remaining scraps and started dabbing at the wound on Gibbs' leg. Thankfully it was a clean shot.

After wrapping his leg up with the pieces she had made, Ziva sighed. "I suppose we are trapped?"

"You can never be truly trapped. Ever heard the riddle about a man stuck in a room with no windows, no doors, and only a mirror and table?" Gibbs looked at her.

"No. How does he escape?"

"He looks in the mirror and he sees what he saw, so he cuts the table in half. Two halves make a whole, and he escapes through the hole."

She paused, thinking about it. After a moment, she stood up and pulled something out of her boot. It was a small switchblade knife. "Just a moment."

Ziva began to bang on the door impatiently. When Leavitt yelled at her to shut up from the other side, she told him that she had to pee. He made a nasty response and didn't open the door.

"I need to use the bathroom!" She yelled, banging on the door harder. William cracked open the door and held the barrel of his pistol to it.

"Stop or I'll shoot you!" He snapped.

"Fine." Ziva sat down again and leaned her head against the wall. There was a click as the door closed, and she sighed. "How _are_ we going to get out of this?"

Tony started drumming his fingers on his desk. Ziva and Gibbs had been gone for nearly five hours, and he had nothing to do. It was almost nine.

Ducky and Palmer walked in. "Has Jethro not returned yet? How strange." Duck said. "I should have hoped to wish him a good night. Oh well. Have a good night, Anthony." He waved goodbye and led Jimmy out. DiNozzo sighed and tried calling his boss. The phone went straight to voicemail.

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "This sucks," he muttered. "I'm sure that the two of them are in deep crap, and there's nothing I can do about it."

After thinking for another minute or so, he got up and began to pace. He knew that something was wrong. Ziva and Gibbs should have been back a _long_ time ago. There was nothing for him to do, and nowhere for him to go. He was still under Gibbs' protection until they solved the case.

DiNozzo finally packed up his things and went out to his car, which hadn't been moved since he was shot. He sat down and sighed, enjoying the feeling of the leather seats. He put the key into the ignition and started the car before driving down to McGee's house.

Tony started banging on the door. "Hey, Probie! I need your help with something!" He called.

Tim answered the door nearly a minute later, looking like he had just gotten out of bed. "What do you want? I was trying to sleep." He grumbled.

"Gibbs and Ziva are in trouble, and I need you to help me find them."

"How long have they been gone?"

"Five hours."

McGee paused. "Fine. Just let me get dressed. If this is a prank, I swear I will kill you." He disappeared inside, and Tony slipped in after him. He waited in the entryway until his friend returned.

"Where are they?" Tim asked, adjusting his jacket.

"Who said you were driving?"

Five minutes later, the two of them were parked down the street from Leavitt's house. Tony made sure that his gun was loaded and that his sling was on his shoulder the right way before stepping out of the car. McGee was on his laptop, tracking Gibbs' cell phone.

"You sure you want to do this, Tony?" He asked, shutting down the computer and sliding it under his seat. He got out of the car and slammed the door.

"I'm sure." DiNozzo started to walk down the street. Tim followed, and they stopped in front of their suspect's house. None of the lights were on, which told them that William was most likely asleep.

McGee slipped up the sidewalk and tested the door. It was locked. He motioned for Tony to come and look at it.

"Can you pick this?" He whispered.

"Just a second." DiNozzo dug in his pocket and pulled out the small tools he used. He put them in the lock and wiggled them around for a moment before turning his wrist and pulling them out. "We're in."

Tim silently opened the door and went inside, checking the area with his pistol at the ready. Tony came inside behind him and closed the door. They managed to go through almost the whole house, except for the one room with a light on. It was in the center of the building, and had a lock on the outside of the door. Voices could be heard through the wood.

"Here we go," Tony murmured, slowly turning the doorknob and barely opening the door. He peeked through the crack and saw Gibbs and Ziva sitting down against the wall. Leavitt was standing in front of them, his back turned. He had a gun pointed at Gibbs' head.


	11. Chapter 11

REVIEWS:

DS2010: CLIFFHANGERS BOTHER ME SO MUCH, SO I HAVE TO MAKE YOU GUYS BE BOTHERED TOO. :D

angelscatie: Thanks! Will do!

kbor: MEBBE THEY WILL, MEBBE THEY WON'T.

Guest: GIBBSIES NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Long Live BRUCAS: Yesh.

Tony stepped back, his heart pounding. He looked at McGee.

"Go down there. Get Leavitt when he comes out." DiNozzo whispered, pointing down the hall in the opposite direction of the door. "I'm going to go bang on the front door."

He walked off as Tim went to his hiding place to wait. Tony slipped outside and shut the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, he brought his fist down on the door repeatedly.

McGee was tense as he heard the knocking. He heard the suspect say something to Ziva and Gibbs before walking out of the room. Tim waited for the right moment, and then charged at William.

The two of them collided with a yell, and then toppled to the floor. They rolled around, fighting to be the one on top. Leavitt ended up on top and tried to reach for his pistol, but McGee shoved it away and elbowed him across the face. He grunted and wrapped his hands around Tim's throat and squeezed.

"Tony!" He yelled, struggling violently.

"Oh, so you brought your friend? Good. He's who I wanted to see." William growled.

DiNozzo heard the two of them fighting and quickly went into the house, gun drawn. He found Leavitt on top of McGee.

"Stop!" Tony yelled.

There was a flurry of movement, and Tim threw the man off. He was standing up when his legs were swept from under him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor. He was out cold.

"You came to get your friends, didn't you?" William growled. "By tomorrow morning, I'll be in Mexico. The police will find four dead bodies."

"Nope. Only one."

There was a gunshot, and the house became silent. Leavitt fell to the ground, dead.

The team was able to return to work two days later. Gibbs was on crutches, Tony's arm was still in a sling, and McGee had a slight concussion, but they were glad to be back to normal.

DiNozzo knew that being sent back to his own house meant returning to his own thoughts and feelings. The loneliness would come rushing back, just like it always did when he went home.

_Why do I have to be so alone?_


	12. Chapter 12

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: Or maybe he's always been lonely and just never realized it?

angelscatie: SIR YES SIR!

NCIS fan: YESH. YOUR QUESTIONS SHALL BE ANSWERED.

The team eventually found out why Leavitt had wanted Tony dead. The agent had been the one to arrest or catch him every single time he was out drunk or running from the cops. The suspect wrote about it in a small journal he kept.

As he read through the pages, DiNozzo frowned. "He seriously wanted me dead. There were others he could send after me, but he never got the chance to. And they were much more dangerous people."

"Were all of them people you've arrested before?" McGee asked. The team was sitting in the bullpen finishing up the report on the case.

"Most of them. Some were relatives of the people who I fined or arrested."

"Then I am not the only person who wants you dead?" Ziva asked jokingly.

Gibbs walked in. "Apparently not."

"Oh, hey Boss. We were just finishing things up on the case." Tony looked up. The rings under his eyes told that he hadn't slept well the past two nights.

"You sure about that, DiNozzo? Make getting some sleep one of those things on the list." Gibbs said, sitting down at his desk.

"Got it." Tony flicked his gaze back to his screen.

"I think that Tony should go home and give us some peace to finish our work." Ziva said.

"How about _you_ go home." DiNozzo muttered.

"_I'm_ not causing any problems."

Gibbs shot her a look. "You are now."

Ziva looked surprised. "I am not!"

"Tony hasn't been talking much since Leavitt took you and Boss hostage." Tim added.

"Thank you, McGoo." DiNozzo said, grinning at Ziva. It was half-hearted and weary, but he knew that Gibbs was the only one who could see that. He also knew that the ex marine left alone what needed to be left alone.

"Fine then. I will stop talking and let you have your quiet." She said matter-of-factly.

"Just sent in my end of the case. See you guys tomorrow." McGee said as he shut down his computer and got his things together.

"I am finished as well." Ziva grabbed her purse and stood up.

"Why do they always finish before me?" Tony looked at Gibbs.

"They type faster than you." The older man replied.

"That isn't fair." DiNozzo watched the other two agents go before focusing on his screen again.

"Life isn't fair." His boss said.

After fifteen minutes of silence, Tony finished his report. "Alright. I'm going home."

"Don't forget what I added onto the list, DiNozzo."

"M'kay." The senior field agent grabbed his backpack and walked to the elevator.

When he got to the parking garage, Tony still noticed the stain on the concrete from when he had been shot. He also kept himself more alert to the shadows.

Listening to the purr of his precious mustang as he pulled out, DiNozzo found himself yawning more and more often. He realized how exhausted he was and shook his head to wake himself up.

It didn't help much, but it was good enough to get him home. Tony didn't even bother to change clothes or eat dinner. He just flopped down on the couch and went to sleep.

DiNozzo never showed up for work the next morning, causing the team to get worried. McGee tracked his cell phone and found that it was turned off.

"I wonder if he overslept," Ziva said.

"Tony never oversleeps. He might be a little late sometimes, but it's never because he slept in." Tim said, running a hand through his hair.

Gibbs came in and looked around. "Where the heck is DiNozzo?"

"Don't know, Boss. His phone is turned off, so I can't track it. Should we go check at his house? There could be people still after him."

Gibbs glanced at the TV above Tony's desk. It was showing a news report of a burned down apartment complex. It was the complex DiNozzo lived in. "There are. Come on." He grabbed his coffee and crutches before leading the others out.

Much to the team's relief, the building Tony's apartment was in hadn't burned, and he was perfectly fine. But they all had a feeling that the case they had just finished wasn't entirely done yet.


	13. Chapter 13

Here's chapter 13!

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: Yep. ONLY Tony could. :D

oldmoviewatcher: DUH DUH DUHHHHHHHHHHH!

angelscatie: I SHALL.

DS2010: It does, doesn't it? I love how you said "my Tony." XD

"So this means the case isn't over?" Tony asked.

"Pretty much." McGee replied.

"I dowanna live with Gibbs anymore!" He whined.

"Would you rather stay with Elf Lord?" His boss said, having walked up behind him. Even though he was on crutches, he was still silent when he moved.

"Oh—hey Boss. I-uh would much rather stay with you." DiNozzo scratched the back of his neck.

They had gone back to work on the case, even though they were all sick of it. After working for an hour or so, McGee came up with a possible suspect. Gibbs sent him and Ziva out to go interview the man, much to Tony's dislike.

"Why can't we go do that?"

"You've got a bad shoulder, and I have a bad leg."

"So?"

"What if the suspect decided to run?"

"I've got perfectly fine legs.

"If he attacked us?"

"Uh—I guess that wouldn't work too well."

"Exactly."

DiNozzo sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was getting bored with all the desk work. It didn't help that his computer had decided to be slow that day.

"Come on, you stupid thing." He slammed his fist on top of it and sighed as it shut itself off. Vance walked in and said something to Gibbs, who nodded a response. The Director then left as soon as he had come in.

"What was that?" Tony asked.

"Nothing."

"Whatever you say, Boss."

Abby came bouncing in. "Tony! What happened this morning?" She set a file on Gibbs' desk and walked over to DiNozzo.

"Some of the apartments near mine burned down." He grinned. "Some people just can't keep themselves away, can they?" The grin was empty and without meaning, but he hid it well enough that Abs didn't notice.

"Nope." She hugged him. "I'm glad that you're okay, though." Abby smiled before going over to Gibbs' desk, telling him a few things on the cold case she was working on, then left.

"Something bothering you, DiNozzo?" His boss asked, not looking up from the papers in front of him.

"Not at all."

"You're hiding something behind that smile."

Tony paused before shrugging. "It doesn't matter."

Gibbs looked up. "We both know it does."

"If I needed to tell you about it, then I would have told you already." DiNozzo avoided his gaze and leaned back in his seat.

Gibbs knew when to leave things alone, but he also knew when to keep pushing. "You've admitted that there is something wrong."

"I know that, Boss. But I can handle my own problems."

"If it's so unimportant, then why don't you tell?"

Ziva and McGee walked in. "Is something up?" Tim asked.

The two older agents shot him a look, and he hurried out with Ziva following.

"I never noticed how much Tony can be like Gibbs sometimes." She said as they went into the break room.

"That's only when he's being bothered by something or someone," McGee agreed. "I guess it's just the case."


	14. Chapter 14

SOWEEE ABOUT THE WAIT! I HAD A WINTER RETREAT!

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: There be no telling with Tony.

angelscatie: DANKE.

Cody Smith: Sorry about the wait!

After their argument, Tony and Gibbs hardly even looked at each other. Ziva and McGee were still curious about what had happened, but didn't ask. They knew that it would only lead to another fight.

No one spoke as Ziva put some papers on Tim's desk, but she could feel them watching her as she walked back to her own seat.

"I do not see why the two of you are sulking." She finally said. "You are acting like small children." DiNozzo and Gibbs visibly stiffened.

"Um, Ziva? Abby wants us in her lab to go over the interview again." McGee lied. He just wanted to get out of the line of fire that was about to occur.

The Israeli got up and followed him to the elevator. "Why did you say that?" She hissed.

"I don't want to be in the middle of the crap that's about to happen," Tim murmured as he cast a glance back at the other two agents. They were silently glaring at each other.

"Fine. What will we say to Abby? She will want to come up here." The two of them stepped onto the elevator.

"We'll just have to make her stay down there until they cool off. I can't believe you said that." He shook his head and pressed the button for Abby's floor.

When they walked into her lab, she rushed over and shushed them. Her plasma screen showed the security footage of the bullpen. Gibbs and DiNozzo were yelling at each other.

Abs looked worried. "They don't normally argue like that. Why did you say that, Ziva?" She exclaimed, looking at the agent.

"They were acting like small children." Ziva shrugged.

"I can't believe you did that!" Abby threw her hands in the air as McGee spoke up.

"Um, guys? Ducky just walked in." He was pointing at the screen. The M.E was watching as the two agents went at it before clearing his throat.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"No." Gibbs snapped, shooting Tony a look before directing his attention to Duck.

"Look at what you did!" Abs yelled.

"I did not do anything," Ziva replied. She appeared calm, but Tim could see that she was fuming.

There was a rush of movement, and Abby slapped the Israeli across the face. Ziva slapped back before storming out.

_Just like a few years ago_, McGee thought.

The team was falling apart.

That night, Gibbs went straight to his basement while Tony angrily flopped down on the couch. They hadn't spoken since their second argument.

It was nearly three in the morning when DiNozzo jerked awake. Something wasn't right. He sat up and looked around, picking his pistol up off of the floor where he had left it. The basement light was still on, but Gibbs had probably fallen asleep.

Tony was about to stand up when a rag was pressed over his face. He took a breath to say something, but ended up inhaling the sickly sweet smell of chloroform. A few moments later, his eyes slid closed and his body went slack.


	15. Chapter 15

:( I cracked the screen on my iPod. AAAAANNYYYYWAAAAYYYYSSSSSS HERE'S CHAPTER 15.

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: Hopefully. I still haven't completely worked out the details of this chapter.

DS2010: I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN, SO SHAME ON ME NOW. FLEW ME TO PLACES I'VE NEVER BEEN, SO SHAME ON ME NOW. XD Taylor Swift sucks.

angelscatie: TROLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL I love doing that to people. Keeps them reading. :)

Scat210: D'awwww…. I _**COMPLETELY**_ agree! Mebbe I'll come up with something… It really depends.

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000

Tony woke up in a tiny, dingy room. His head hurt for whatever reason, and that pain was accompanied by the throbbing in his shoulder. From where he was on the floor, he could see all of the cracks on the ceiling and the cobwebs in the corners, but not much else.

The first thing DiNozzo noticed when he sat up was Gibbs lying a couple feet away with his back turned. There looked to be dried blood that had trickled down the back of his neck, along with a few other marks and signs of struggle.

_Ignore the dirtbag._

Upon closer inspection of the walls and floor, Tony found a doorway. It appeared to only have one purpose; keep things from escaping. A shudder escaped him as he thought of what could happen.

_Keep it together, DiNozzo._

While he was trying to give himself a mental pep talk, the door creaked open. A man in his late forties or early fifties walked in. He had graying hair, a scraggly beard, and cracked glasses perched on the tip of his nose. The old, stained shirt he was wearing along with a pair of gray sweats only added to the messy look he carried with him.

"I see that you're up." He said. Hate laced through his fairly high-pitched voice, and crooked teeth flashed as he spoke.

"Not really. If you think about it, I'm down. Because, y'know, you're standing while I'm sitting. If you weren't here, then I guess you could say I was up compared to my boss here. But you far outrank me in up-ness at the moment." Tony started to chatter. That was what he did when he felt scared or upset.

"Shut it, Agent DiNozzo. I didn't come here to listen to you blabber."

"So—uh—what do you want? My team info, something like that?"

"Exactly."

"Just a second. Let me get back to you on that one."

Their captor watched Tony with narrowed eyes as he thought. After a couple of minutes he growled. "Sometime today would be nice."

"Darn!" The senior field agent shook his head. "You interrupted my train of thought!"

"Maybe this will get your head on track again," The man hissed, kicking the man below him onto his back and digging his heel into his shoulder. "A little pain always seems to work." He sneered.

DiNozzo glanced at Gibbs. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed the ex marine to wake up and start kicking butt. But the older man didn't move, and Tony's thoughts were cut off as the pain in his shoulder sharply increased. The man was grinding the heel of his shoe into his shoulder.

"So. Tell me about your forensics specialist. She seems to be of the most danger right now." He narrowed his eyes and bent over to look directly down at DiNozzo.

"Let's see. She's a vampire who—"

"No more games, Anthony." The suspect pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Tony's head. "I'm done with your crap."

"Well alrighty then!" He let out a high-pitched noise when the man pressed harder on his shoulder. "She loves Goth stuff." DiNozzo grated out. "She's very energetic, and once worked as a bartender."

"We both know that isn't what I want,"

"She does our forensic stuff and always thinks that Boss is right, no matter what."

"Strike three, Tony. You're out." The man tightened his grip on the gun and lined DiNozzo's forehead up in the sights.


	16. Chapter 16

I'MMMM BAAAAAACCKKKK! :D I also think this is the chapter that has the MOST reviews out of all my stories. THANK YOU GUYSSSSS!

REVIEWS:

angelscatie: Thanks! AND YOU SHALL HAVE MOAR.

Long Live BRUCAS: ANYTIME NOW! The bad guy is like one of my teachers that I hate. :D

DS2010: Gotta love him. :)

TheNaggingCube: I TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT.

Scat210: Tony and his big mouth. Always getting him into the crap. Will Gibbs wake up before it's too late?

Guest: I KNOW I KNOW I SOWEE I HAS DONE NO CHARACTER DEVOPMENT WHATSOEVERRRRRRRR! I SHALL WORK ON THAT NAO.

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"You ever meet a man named Shaky?" Tony asked.

The man paused slightly, looking confused. "No. I haven't."

"He was scared to do the hard thing, and he always shook when he was scared. Y'know, like one of those purse-riding Chihuahuas."

"Why does this matter to me? You're stalling, aren't you?"

"What does it matter if I am? Anyways, what I'm getting at is that you're scared to shoot me. Your hands are shaking, and I can see it in your eyes."

"I am not scared to shoot you, Agent DiNozzo. I have spent all this time trying to kill you, and I am not going to hesitate when I have you pinned to the floor and staring down the barrel of your own gun."

"Then shoot me."

Tony's captor narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

DiNozzo jerked his head to the side, but not far enough. The bullet grazed his temple and the flash from the barrel half blinded him.

"Missed me," he ground out. His ears were ringing from the loud gunshot.

The man growled and dug his heel into Tony's shoulder more. "Stop moving," he snapped.

DiNozzo started faking a seizure and took the man's legs out from under him before using a foot to stomp his wrist. He grunted and released the pistol as his captive pinned him to the floor.

"I don't think I'm going to stop moving for a while." Tony said.

Blood was beginning to drip down onto the concrete floor, and it started to flow into his eyes. The agent started blinking rapidly to keep the red liquid out, but to no avail. Next thing he knew, his captor was on top of him again and there was cold metal pressed to his forehead.

"Oh, so you're going to hold my head still now? Good move. I would suggest you do that earlier on with Gibbs, though. He's a very slippery one to get." DiNozzo said casually. He knew that he was frustrating the man above him. He also knew that his time was running out.

He cast a glance over at his boss.

_When will he wake up?_

"Shut up! I've had it with you!"

"What's your name again? I keep on forgetting."

"What? I never told you."

"Oh, so that's why! Anyways, will you tell me your name? It can't hurt, since I'm going to be dead within a few minutes." Tony stalled.

_Wake up!_

"Jody Meason." The man pushed the pistol onto DiNozzo's forehead harder. "Now shut up."

"Alright. Can you wait just a minute? I want to watch my life as it flashes before my eyes, y'know."

"I'm done with your stalling!"

There was a rapid flurry of movement, and Gibbs lunged at the man. A shot rang out, and then the room went quiet.

But only two of them were breathing.


	17. Chapter 17

HOLY POOPFARTNUGGETS I CAN POST FROM HOME! ERMAHGERD YERSH! :D :D :D I SHALL NAO POST WHENEVER I WANT TO! YERSH YERSH YERSH! Sorry if you guys get an alert at 3 in the morning. I'm only in 8th grade, AND I AM AN INSOMNIAC. Lol. SO ENJOY MAH NEW ABILITY TO POST LIKE CRAZY. :D

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TheNaggingCube: YESH. I love it when he does that.

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oldmoviewatcher: DANKE. I love reviews that critique me, so it's fine! I actually like it when people slam my writing. XD

Awesome-Maren: THERE SHALL BE A HAPPY ENDING. TRUST ME.

Scat210: KEEP 'EM CROSSED.

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Tony froze as the bullet whizzed past his face and nicked his already hurt shoulder. He stared at the ceiling, knowing exactly how close to death he had just come.

The room went deadly quiet until one of the two men to DiNozzo's left started to move. It sounded as if one of them was pushing the other off of himself.

Gibbs had been on top. That meant that Jody was standing up. But what if they had rolled over before he shot? Then Gibbs was on the bottom. There were too many possibilities.

Tony felt as if he was about to explode. If his boss was dead, then he would have had no chance to apologize for his behavior. No chance to make things right.

Whoever had gotten up patted his shoulder. "Come on, DiNozzo. You can't lie there all day."

"Got it, Boss." Tony felt more relieved than he had ever been before. Gibbs wasn't dead, and they were going to escape. He was going to be able to apologize for what he had said and done to the older man.

DiNozzo hauled himself to his feet and helped his boss up; slinging the ex marine's right arm over his shoulders and allowing the man to lean on him.

"Is there anyone else here? They might be wondering why their friend isn't back, if that's the case." Tony said. Gibbs had taken Meason's keys and was unlocking the door to escape when it was kicked open.

_Great. More baddies. _

DiNozzo was staring down the barrel of a gun again. There was an unfamiliar face behind it, and a similar pistol aimed at Gibbs.

"Sit down against the wall." One of them ordered.

The two agents obeyed and sat on the floor. There was a dark haired girl with glasses and a blonde haired man wearing a leather jacket.

"I see that you managed to kill Jody," the blonde said.

"He was too easy," Tony muttered.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Of course he was. He was way out of shape and in no form to fight."

"Are you going to kill us now?"

"Slowly and painfully." The man ducked out of the room while his brunette friend watched Gibbs and DiNozzo.

He returned with a power drill and some jumper cords and then left again. When the blonde finally came back from the second trip he had a metal chair and a car battery.

"We like to call the chair 'Zappy.' You'll know why soon enough." The girl said. She was calm and relaxed, while her friend seemed slightly jumpy.

Gibbs was completely deadpan and quiet, while Tony was feeling jittery and nervous. He was even a little scared, but no one had to know that.

"So—uh—what do you do with the power drill?" He asked.

The man held it up and looked down at the agent. "Knees."

"That sounds great," DiNozzo gave a nervous laugh.

"Who wants to go first?" The brunette was sparking the jumper cables.

Tony glanced at Gibbs, who shrugged slightly.

"I will,"

The blonde pulled the ex marine to his feet and sat him down in the chair before using the cable to tie his hands and feet to it.

"Wait! Can't we arrange something else? Like—a ransom or something." Tony blurted out. "You get your info and get money from the government in exchange for the two of us."

"Why would we do that?" The girl asked. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms; a jumper cable in each hand.

"B-because we're worth something to the government, and they'll pay a hefty amount of cash to get us back?"

"We're not doing this for the money, Agent DiNozzo." Her friend said. He turned on the drill for a moment.

"You would be able to buy plane tickets to Mexico. Go there, and you're free." Gibbs said. His gaze flicked from face to face.

Both of their captors paused, looking at each other. "We could get plenty of money out of either one of you alone," the girl said. "How about we just kill one and use the cash from the other to escape?"

The blonde nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Which one goes first?"

"Gibbs."


	18. Chapter 18

LOL IT'S SNOWING

REVIEWS:

Long Live BRUCAS: I actually got this idea from an interrogation scene in Call of Duty. METAL CHAIR (JUMPER CABLES + CAR BATTERY) = OH NOES

angelscatie: Thanks!

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"Aren't you going to do something with Meason's body? I mean—you don't want it to look like you killed him too." Tony said. He was chattering out of pure fear. "That would add another charge onto your list, but I guess that you wouldn't need to worry about that, since you'll be in Mexico."

"Remi, why don't we just kill DiNozzo and keep Gibbs? I'm getting sick of his mouth." The blonde said.

Remi shrugged. "I'm sure that Agent Gibbs would bring more money, too." She looked at Tony. "I wonder how well that voice works when you're being electrocuted to death."

There was a noise somewhere else in the house. "Wait—what was that?" The man asked. He pulled out his pistol again and slipped out of the room.

"It seems like someone's come to help you. Too bad. You'll already be dead." The girl pulled out her own gun and pressed it to Gibbs' temple.

A gunshot went off, and Remi fell to the side, pressing a hand to her abdomen. McGee rushed in with his pistol aimed at her.

"What did you do to Cameron?" She shrieked. "Cameron!"

"Cameron is taken care of." Tim said.

"You mean that he's dead?"

"No. He's in our custody."

"Cameron!" Remi cried again. "Don't tell them anything!" She put the barrel of her pistol to her chin.

"Don't do it." McGee said firmly.

"You're not getting anything out of me." The brunette pulled the trigger.

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A few hours later Tony was back on Gibbs' couch, trying to sleep.

He sighed. Sleep wasn't going to come tonight. Neither was peace. His mind was still on overload from the day's events. Another thing was tugging at him.

_I'm lonely._

Gibbs had stayed up at the headquarters to interrogate Cameron, which left DiNozzo alone in the house.

He blinked and shifted his gaze to another place on the ceiling. Tony knew how lonely he was, and also how low his confidence was at times. After growing up with a father like his, he thought he would be able to deal with those things. He did, for the most part. But not always. There were some days when simply getting out of bed and going to work seemed impossible.

_What would the others be doing if I had died today?_

DiNozzo picked up his water bottle off of the floor and took a swig.

_What would I be doing if Gibbs had died today?_

He still hadn't apologized to the older man. They still hadn't spoken much since their argument. A question constantly came to mind. Could he have torn a permanent rift in the team?

_Why didn't I just tell him what was up? _

His stubbornness had almost gotten both of them killed. Fear for his team was what had made him upset the day before. It seemed like all that had come out of the investigation was physical and emotional injuries.

Tony let out a heavy sigh and turned onto his left side so that he was facing the back of the couch. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on sleep, but that single thought continued to nag at him.

_Did I ruin the team's friendship?_


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry this took so long to update!

REVIEWS:

angelscatie: Thanks! I agree. Poor Tony.

Long Live BRUCAS: TIMMY! :D

Awesome-Maren: OF COURSE I REPLIED. :)

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DiNozzo blinked groggily and started to sit up as someone walked into the house. A familiar hand pressed him down.

"Go back to sleep, Tony." Gibbs murmured.

"Don't want to right now," DiNozzo rubbed one eye and sat up. "Need to talk to you."

The older man sat down on the coffee table. "About what?"

"Yesterday or whenever it was."

"Mm." Gibbs pulled his jacket off and tossed it onto one of the chairs.

"I should've told you and not been so stubborn."

"Everyone makes mistakes. It's fine."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "It isn't fine. The others are mad, aren't they?"

"They'll get over it."

"And if they don't?" He paused. "Ziva wasn't with McGee earlier, was she?"

Gibbs shook his head and took a drink of his coffee.

"If only life had an undo button." DiNozzo sighed and lay back down. "We can talk about it tomorrow, right?"

"Sure, Tony." Gibbs patted the younger man's good shoulder and walked to the stairs. "Now go back to bed. You had a long day." He gave one of his crooked grins and went downstairs.

DiNozzo relaxed, feeling like he had taken a huge weight off of his chest. The only problem left was making sure that McGee, Abby, and Ziva were going to get along.

_Tomorrow. Worry about it tomorrow. Sleep now._

Tony closed his eyes and let sleep wash over him.

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The next morning, Ziva and McGee were already in the bullpen when Gibbs and DiNozzo arrived. The younger two agents were silently working, not bothering to say good morning.

"And good morning to you too, McGrumpyPants!" Tony announced as he sat at his desk.

Tim rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say good morning. It seems like both of you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"Shut up, Tony. We are trying to work." Ziva muttered.

"Working together?" Gibbs asked as he sat down to check his email.

"No." Both agents said simultaneously.

"You're going to have to sometime. Now come on. Abby wants us in her lab." The sniper stood up and went over to the elevator, his crutches clicking on the floor. Ziva rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking and followed him; falling into step with Tony. McGee walked over a moment later. Both he and Ziva were scowling, and they refused to look at each other. DiNozzo exchanged a glance with Gibbs as he pressed the elevator button.

When they stepped into the lab, Abby rushed over and hugged the two senior agents tightly, exclaiming that she was happy they were okay. Her happiness seemed to fade when she saw McGee and Ziva standing behind them. She paused for a moment, glaring over Gibbs' shoulder at them before turning and hurrying the four of them over to her computer.

"I was going through Remi and Cameron's phone records, journals, internet history, all of that, and I found something. Jody was their father, and they all had some kind of grudge to bear against Tony!"

"Like what? I need specifics, Abs." Gibbs said.

"Jody had been involved in one of Tony's cases in Baltimore, and both kids had been separated from their father for three weeks. Their mother was a victim in a murder that Tony dealt with as well."

"Did you find any reasons to want Boss dead?" DiNozzo asked.

Abby nodded. "They wanted him dead so that they could cause you more pain."

The air in the room seemed to get heavier as the team remembered what had happened when Kate was killed. They stood in silence for a few moments before Gibbs broke the silence.

"Is there anyone else involved?"

"Not that I could find. The only names I found belonged to people who were already under arrest. I also couldn't find anything about some head honcho. It seems like the Measons were the top of the food chain."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"They were planning this for years! So far back that I can't even get a hold of some of their files."

"There could be others that haven't been contacted in a long time. I want you to work with McGee and Ziva to find this stuff." The ex marine shot the younger agents a look, as if to dare them to protest.

The two of them paused before giving a submissive nod and walking over to the separate computer.

"Good girl, Abs. Tell me if you find anything else." Gibbs kissed the top of Abby's head before leading Tony out.

They were standing in the elevator when DiNozzo flicked the switch to turn it off.

"They're going to kill each other in there," he said.

"If they do, then they'll be answering to me." Gibbs leaned against the wall.

"I guess. Why did you tell Ziva to stay?"

"Because. She and Abby need to work out their arguments, and that isn't going to happen if they're avoiding each other all the time."

"And if they don't work it out?"

"Trust me, DiNozzo. They will. Even if it comes to hair pulling and biting." Gibbs moved forward and flicked the switch to start the elevator.


	20. Chapter 20

IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY! GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY! Not really. I DESPISE that song.

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Long Live BRUCAS: Yuppers!

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Guest: Thanks! I meant that he wanted to go home and rest so that the bruises would heal quickly. :3

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McGee sighed. He knew what Gibbs had been trying to do, but it had failed badly. Abby and Ziva refused to talk to each other. The only kind of communication that passed between them for the last four hours was dirty looks.

_No wonder Boss was divorced three times_. He thought. _Women can be terrible!_

"It's late," Ziva said. "I'm leaving."

"No you're not! Gibbs has not said we can leave yet! Besides—you've done almost nothing useful today." Abby snapped.

The Israeli visibly stiffened. "At least I have done more than you."

"Really? You're not the one who figured out the reason for wanting Tony dead! You never came up with the idea to dig deeper into the Meason family's records!"

"That was earlier! You have done nothing but chatter to McGee and blare that horrible music since Gibbs told us to work with you!"

Abby paused and narrowed her eyes. "How _dare_ you accuse me of that. I'm not the one who aggravated Gibbs and Tony! You're the one who started all this! If it hadn't of been for you and your stupid mouth, _you wouldn't have to work with me_." There was venom in her voice.

Tim looked at the door and saw Palmer poke his head in. Ducky's assistant glanced around the lab, flinching when Ziva slammed her fist on Abby's desk. He looked at McGee, who shook his head and motioned for the younger man to go. Jimmy nodded and left quickly.

Tension seemed to crackle in the room as the two women glared at each other. McGee cleared his throat. "How about we all just go home and get some rest? It's been a long day."

The other two ignored him and continued to scowl. Ziva straightened herself up and turned away. "If you haven't noticed, Gibbs and Tony are over their argument. I helped them work it out, did I not?"

"They worked it out on their own. They always do." Abby shrugged. "You just say that you helped to defend yourself."

"You only stood by and watched! At least I tried to do something about it!"

"Both of you! Shut up!" McGee exclaimed as he rose to his feet. The two women looked at him in surprise. "Your argument is pointless! Why are you still mad at each other?"

Abs sighed. "I don't know," she mumbled. Ziva shrugged and looked at her feet.

"Then apologize." Tim shot both of them a look.

"She goes first!" Abby pointed at the Israeli.

"What? I—" Ziva stopped herself and took in a deep breath. "I am sorry, Abby. I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I'm sorry too." The Goth hugged the other woman tightly. When she released her, Abs clicked the heels of her boots together and looked down. "You can go home, if you want to."

"I'm going to stay here and help with the case." Ziva gave a small smile and walked over to where she had been working.

McGee sat down again and ran a hand through his hair. "I swear, you two are worse than Gibbs and Tony were." He muttered.

"What was that, Timmy?" Abby asked, walking over to stand next to him.

"Nothing, Abs." Tim smiled to himself and shook his head. "Just thinking."


	21. Chapter 21

SOWWEE THIS TOOK SO LONG! I BE RUNNING TRACK AND JUNK, SO I DON'T HAVE TIME. :(

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Long Live BRUCAS: Takes a lot of guts to yell at both of them.

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Awesome-Maren: PENGUIN CLAPPING YESS! I do that ALL the time! Honestly, I see McGee as more of a man than Tony sometimes.

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The next day, Abby, McGee, and Ziva had gone through all that they could and found nothing unusual. The latter two agents dismissed the case and considered it done and over with. But Abs had some other suspicions. She continued to work, digging deeper and deeper into each person's records and history.

Three days later, the suspects the team had captured were sent to court to be given their final sentences. Tony was allowed to stay in his own apartment again, and Gibbs went back to his normal schedule of staying at the office later than everyone else to get more work done.

DiNozzo paused as he stepped into his apartment. He could still smell smoke in the air from the recent fires. It irritated his lungs, but he ignored it. The stench would go away eventually, and so would the slight burn in his chest and throat with every inhale.

Another thing agitated him. Loneliness hung over him like a cloud that followed him wherever he went. The single place where he didn't feel lonely was at work, where he was surrounded by people he knew he could trust. That small, insecure, and needy boy that lived inside him was always at rest when he was working on a new case or when he was picking on the other agents. But the little boy came out when he was alone.

Sleep didn't come easy the first couple of weeks. Even though the case was over, Tony still felt a bit paranoid. Those murderers had tried to get him so many times and in so many different ways that he didn't know what to expect next. Thinking of ways for them to kill him, capture him, or even torture him kept him awake at night. Nightmares also haunted him. They clouded his dreams; made him think he was truly reliving those moments. Being shot. Being pinned to the ground. Having to watch as the father figure in his life was tied to a chair.

Four weeks later, both Gibbs and DiNozzo were back to normal activities. Both still had to take it easy, but they could do field work again. Tony was relieved to have his arm out of the sling, and almost injured himself again the very next day.

Abby continued to dig into the suspects' lives in her free time; becoming more and more absorbed in their behaviors and actions. The entire team noticed her lack of focus when working on cases and how she would quickly close certain windows on her computer when someone walked in. All of it was suspicious, but no one said anything. They knew better than to mess with the forensics specialist when she was working on something important to her.

The murderers' lives were soon her complete obsession. She would leave at random times during the day to go visit their houses to look through things like photo albums or go to the pound and see their pets that had been sent there. Gibbs soon became fed up with it and demanded to talk with her one day.

"But Gibbs! I'm trying to work on this!" Abs complained.

"I know that, Abby. But you're becoming too distracted with it. You need to focus on what we're trying to work on before Duck takes over for you." The ex sniper was leaning against her desk.

"I guess. Can I still go over it, though?"

"If it doesn't get in the way of our investigations." Gibbs kissed the top of her head. "Got it?"

Abby nodded and smiled. "Got it!" She turned around to look at something. When she turned back, the older man was gone.

One night, Abs was going through the files when she noticed something odd about the Meason family's phone records. It appeared that they hadn't called anyone for three months.

She narrowed her eyes. "What have we got here?"

The forensics specialist had uncovered links that went farther and deeper than she ever could have thought.


	22. Chapter 22

**TRACK. SCHOOL. THEY HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE. I would do more late night writing, but I never have the energy! GAAAAH!**

**REVIEWS:**

**TheNaggingCube: HEEEYYYY. THAT'S GIBBS'S'S'S'S LINE.**

**Long Live BRUCAS: Yes. Yes she should. Or will she try to figure it out on her own? There's no telling with Abs.**

**angelscatie: Thanks! Sorry this took so long!**

Abby dug as deep as she could. She discovered that the Measons had been contacting people from a separate phone number during the three months they went off the records. Another puzzle piece she found was that all of the people contacted were people who had appeared at some other time in Tony's past.

Quickly jotting down the names of the new suspects, the forensics specialist never noticed someone slip into her lab. Their light footsteps were hidden by the loud noise of the music she was always playing.

She noticed a flicker of movement behind her and stiffened. Abby always knew when it was Gibbs, DiNozzo, or Ziva. The three of them snuck about, but they had their own ways of doing it. Gibbs and Ziva were effortless, but the older man had more grace and flow to his movements. Unlike the other two, Tony didn't stare holes into her head when he walked in. The forensics specialist always felt people staring, and whoever had come in was staring as hard as they possibly could.

Abs whirled around, holding a switchblade she kept hidden on her person. There was a blur of movement to her right before something barreled into her. The knife was knocked away from her hand by a swift hit to the wrist.

A masked man was holding her to the floor. "Hello, Miss Scuito. I see that you found their little secret." He growled.

"Let go of me!" She yelled, struggling. "Help! Someone!"

Her attacker clapped a hand over her mouth and nose. "You will shut that pretty little mouth of yours, or I'll force Gibbs to watch as you're tortured to death."

Abby paused for a moment before biting his hand and kicking violently. The man yanked his arm back and coughed slightly as her boot collided with his stomach, but he recovered quickly. He jumped at her just before she could wrap her fingers around the switchblade that had skittered across the floor and slammed her head against the cold tile, knocking her lights out.

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When Abs woke up, she noticed that she was in some sort of vehicle. Where they were going, she had no idea. There were four other people in the back of the van, and three of them were too familiar for comfort.

McGee, Palmer, and Ducky were in various positions about the back of the vehicle. Doctor Mallard was alert, Tim was just waking up, and Jimmy was still out cold. The fourth person was Abby's attacker.

"So you finally decided to wake up, _Abs_?" He sneered.

"Don't call me that," she snapped. While the man was distracted with the Goth, Duck had begun to untie the knot in the rope around his wrists. From the moment he had gotten his bearings, he had noticed the lousy knot.

"Why not? It isn't like Gibbs is going to be around to stop me or anything."

"You shut up! He's going to come and find us!"

"Really? I don't think his jurisdiction stretches all the way to Mexico, does it?"

Abby began to speak, but stopped. Their captor chuckled. "I thought so. Besides, even if it did, he wouldn't be able to find you without his geek." The man kicked McGee's side. "If his geek wasn't around, he'd ask you. And if you weren't around, he'd ask the M.E. But look at this, Missy. I have all those people right here. All he has is a Mossad officer, himself, and that completely worthless DiNozzo. Meason should have killed him when he had the chance."

McGee was the only one that noticed when the rope slid off of Ducky's wrists. He gave a small nod and slowly scooted over to sit back to back with the older man. Once the agent was free, he leapt up and tackled their captor.

Duck hurried to free Abby and finally Palmer as the other two men fought and struggled to come out on top. Jimmy was just waking up as Tim pinned the other man to the floor and brought his fist down on his face repeatedly. They were all so caught up in the commotion that none of them noticed the car pull over until the back doors were quickly opened.

There was a click, and the group found themselves staring down the barrels of multiple guns. Abby gulped.

This was _not_ going to be pretty.


	23. Chapter 23

**I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T POSTED IN LIKE SEVEN YEARSSSS :( I have finals this week, so I've been very busy with track practice and homework and studying and junk. BUT I AM ALMOST AT SUMMER!**

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**Long Live BRUCAS: I love giving you guys cliffhangers. It keeps people reading!**

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**LuluMcGufu: Thanks so much! I've been working on, as my English teacher says, using bigger and stronger verbs. I feel like a 2****nd**** grader for it, but it works! And yes—I am considering a FictionPress account to post my own original stuff. I have lots of characters that run around my head and simply wreak havoc. :)**

**angelscatie: YES. YES INDEED.**

**Ladyaloysius: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE put school and work ahead of my writing! My stories aren't THAT important! But still, thanks for the support! **

The NCIS crew watched warily as a man stepped forward. He was clapping slowly. "I applaud your ability to escape from what seems to be nearly any situation. But, sadly, you cannot continue to pull these stunts. We do not plan on losing you again."

McGee looked him up and down. He was in a business suit and tie, and seemed too manicured for his own good. His hair was perfectly styled, his collar was stiff and pressed as if he had just gotten it back from the dry cleaners, and his shoes were completely clean of any scuffs or marks. It disgusted Tim.

"Take care of them, and make sure they do not escape." Their captor ordered. Some of the men stepped forward and tightly tied all of their wrists. They were thrown in the back of a delivery truck and practically held at gunpoint for the rest of the ride. All of them were thinking the same thing—_Will Gibbs, Ziva, and Tony be able to find us?_

Gibbs growled when he saw the papers and various items strewn about the floor in Abby's lab. He and his senior field agent hadn't been able to find anyone but themselves. Not even Ziva was answering her phone.

DiNozzo stepped inside. "Anything, Boss?"

"Nothing." Even though Gibbs' voice was calm, Tony could tell that he was seething. No one kidnapped his entire team and got away with it. _No one_.

Both of them stopped for a moment. "They did this so we would have no chance of finding them. Without anyone with any tech know-how, we would be lost to find them. Someone thought this out, knew we would be after them." DiNozzo paused. "They somehow knew that even Ziva might have been able to help."

"You think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs shot him a look. "Come on. We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way." He swiftly turned and walked out. Tony followed him out to the car.

"We're going to check all our leads and make sure that they haven't returned to any of the houses they have been in." The older man said as he started the car. "If that doesn't work, then we'll come back and interrogate the suspects we have."

"Got it, Boss."

The two of them returned three hours later with nothing but a slip of paper with some kind of code on it. They took it to Cyber Crimes to investigate, and then had two of the suspects called in at a time.

Their interrogations got them nowhere, and Cyber Crimes had no idea what the code was for. Gibbs and DiNozzo both began making calls to different organizations and agencies that had information on the suspects. One of the organizations asked for some kind of security code for Tony to be able to access the information on the suspects.

"Just a second, let me find it." DiNozzo said before muting the phone. "I found what the code is for. It's a security number to get into their personal safe they have with Sunrise Security."

"Then get into that safe." Gibbs snapped, getting up and walking over to stand in front of Tony's desk.

The younger agent took the phone off of mute. "Here it is. P-6-6-H-W."

"That is the correct code, Mister DiNozzo. When would you like to set up an appointment to look inside the safe?" The operator's voice rang through the phone.

"What's the closest time you can get me?"

"I have an open spot in thirty minutes. Does that sound good?"

"Very. Thank you." Tony hung up. "Thirty minutes, Boss."

"Good. Grab your stuff. We need to be early in case if the owner decides to show up at the same time."

"I thought we killed the owner."

"Doesn't mean he didn't have a wife or kids." Gibbs started to walk out, DiNozzo soon following.

Ziva looked around the large dog cage she was being kept in. It had iron bars all around the side, and iron slabs for the top and bottom. She had tried to pick the lock on the door, but her paperclip had slipped from her fingers and just out of her reach. The ex Mossad officer had almost wrenched her shoulder trying to get the thing.

There had been a lot of people coming and going, and someone was suddenly in front of her cage, unlocking the door. Abby was pushed in, and the door was slammed shut.

"Abby! What are you doing here?" Ziva exclaimed.

The forensics specialist looked surprised. "I was about to ask you the same. I thought you were with Tony and Gibbs."

"I was about to leave my apartment when someone knocked me out and brought me here. I am assuming the same happened to you?"

"Yeah. I don't know why they took us, though." Abs looked around. Ducky and Palmer were in a cage a few feet away, and McGee was in another beside theirs.

"It is probably to keep us from catching onto their trail. I do wonder if this is connected to Tony's attackers."

Abby paused for a moment, thinking. "I had just discovered some kind of link when they came and kidnapped me. The Measons had been using a completely separate phone number for three months and calling numbers that belonged to some people with criminal records." She sighed. "I'm sure that whoever came and took us deleted what I found."

"These people obviously planned this. Otherwise they would have left you, Ducky, Jimmy, and McGee alone." Ziva lowered her voice as someone walked past. "This is to keep Gibbs and Tony in the dark."

Abby's eyes widened. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" She pulled a piece of paper and pen out of her lab coat and began scribbling things down. "They're either going to go after Gibbs and kill Tony, or they're going to use us as bait. Probably the bait part." She began to chatter excitedly about what could happen. Ziva finally shushed her and moved over to the edge of their cage, motioning for Ducky and Palmer to come as close as they could. When they were listening, she explained Abby's theory to them.

"That does sound very likely. They used you and Jethro as bait before," Duck's voice trailed off as he mulled over what she had said. Jimmy scooted to the other side of the cage and told Tim what was going on.

"We need a plan," Ducky murmured.

A few minutes later, all of them knew their part of the doctor's scheme. Abby began reaching out of the cage at whoever walked past, complaining of needing to use the restroom. One finally gave in and opened the door. When he did, Ziva jumped out at him and took his phone, keys, gun, and wallet before shoving him inside the cage and locking it. She then gave Abby the keys and kept watch as the Goth unlocked the other cages.

Palmer and McGee hung around the cages, Tim keeping the gun hidden under his shirt. They started calling for someone to bring them a drink as the others slipped of in the other direction to find a hiding place. The building seemed to be some kind of business place. They were about to step inside a janitor's closet when someone yelled at them to stop.

"Crap," Abby muttered.


	24. Chapter 24

**Guess who's a freshman! (Or, freshwoman haha) THAT'S RIGHT. I'm officially a high schooler.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Long Live BRUCAS: Or maybe they want them to find what's in the safe and come to them….**

**Peglet: I won't be keeping you guys on edge so long because I'm on summer break now. :D**

**angelscatie: Thanks! :)**

The group froze. They had been so, so close. The three of them turned around and put their hands up. One of the guards walked forward, pulling zip ties out of his pocket. He had just secured Abby's wrists when a foot collided with the back of his head. As he stumbled to the side, Ziva tackled him. She used the zip ties to hold his hands and feet before dragging him into the closet, Ducky and Abs following. The doctor had taken the keys from the forensics specialist and sawed the plastic off.

"What do we do with him?" Abby asked as Ziva took the guard's things. They now had two wallets, two sets of keys, a gun, and a pocket knife.

"We could torture him until he told us why they're after Tony," She suggested.

Ducky shook his head. "We should leave him."

"He could yell for help." Ziva began to busy herself with tying the man to a shelf. "Too risky.

"Ooh! I know!" Abs reached up and pulled a roll of duct tape off of the shelf. "Tape his mouth shut and his hands into a ball so that he can't yell for help or open the door."

"Can I go home? I don't want to rot in here." The guard looked around hopefully.

"No," was the simultaneous response. He didn't have the chance to say anything else before Abby put a strip of duct tape over his mouth. Ziva was already working on taping his hands together.

"Boss? I've got a bad feeling about this." DiNozzo muttered as they walked into the room. The safe box was already on the table.

"You're not the only one," Gibbs muttered. He leaned against the door as Tony moved to open the box.

The agent pulled out a piece of paper. It had an address on it, along with a note. "Looks like you found the box," DiNozzo read. "Good work, agent. This is the address where your friends are being held. Too bad you won't get to see them." He shoved the note in his pocket and moved a piece of cardboard out of the way. There was a bomb, obviously triggered by opening the box. "Get down!" Tony yelled as he threw himself to the floor. The explosion rocked the building a second later.

There was a bright white light. DiNozzo had no idea what was going on. Everything was muffled, and he couldn't feel anything. He felt as if he was underwater. The agent couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. Was that the crackle of fire he heard? Or was it static from a TV? Tony couldn't tell if he was leaning against the wall or lying on the ground. The heavy weight of something on his chest was keeping him from breathing.

As his senses returned, he could clearly smell smoke and dust. Flames were burning all around him, and the room was slowly filling with smoke. A heavy beam had fallen across his chest, and he had no way to move it.

_Is this it?_

McGee and Palmer had taken care of two men who had passed through, and they could tell that the others were beginning to search for their lost friends. More and more of them were passing through the room, but none noticed the two men hiding in the shadows, or the guards locked in the darkest cages. Tim motioned for his friend to listen carefully when two men came inside and began to talk. They mentioned something about a bomb going off and the target being hit. The two NCIS workers felt a rock begin to form in the pit of their stomachs as they listened.

Soon, the men stopped coming through the room. McGee heard someone mention a meeting, so he nudged Jimmy. "All of them are in a meeting," he murmured as soon as the guards were gone.

"That's our chance." Palmer responded. He stood up and walked to one of the doorways. "Which way do we go?"

"The opposite direction they were going." Tim stood as well and stretched, feeling his sore joints pop and crack. Both of them were feeling the effects of being crouched for so long.

"I can see the meeting room right down there," Jimmy said. "We could find the exit by pulling the fire alarm and following them out. No one would notice us because they were so panicked about getting away."

"What about Ziva and the others? They might not find their way out."

"Right. Wait—there's exit signs all over the place, McGee." Palmer laughed quietly. "Do you feel stupid? I sure do."

Tim facepalmed and followed the other man. The two of them followed the exit signs down stairwells and long hallways until they found the exit. They slipped outside and saw the others hiding in some nearby bushes.

"Hey," McGee murmured as they crouched next to the rest of the crew. "I heard something about a bomb going off."

"I have no idea. We've been out here waiting for you guys." Abby said, hugging him tightly. "Come on, let's go find one of their cars and get out of here."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25! I guess this is going to be the last chapter. Thanks so much to all of you for the amazing reviews and support! You guys have no idea how much I loved hearing your great feedback. :)**

**REVIEWS:**

**Long Live BRUCAS: Ohhh they will. :)**

**Peglet: This chapter, in fact!**

**Scat210: No luck at alllll… But yes, he will be okay. Why would I write this whole thing just to kill him?**

**angelscatie: Eyyup.**

Black was closing in on DiNozzo's vision when he saw a form move in the opposite corner of the room. He tried to focus in on it, but everything was turning blurry. His lungs screamed for air. The person half stood up, keeping their head below the smoke that was coming lower and lower by the minute. They saw Tony and hauled the beam off of him, allowing the agent to take a much needed breath.

"Come on, DiNozzo. We need to get out of here before the place collapses." Gibbs looked around, stifling a cough. He offered Tony a hand. The younger man took it and slung an arm over his boss' shoulders. Both of them staggered out of the room and through the lobby, which wasn't in much better condition. They flinched and moved a little faster when a beam crashed down behind them, sending ashes and sparks flying into the air.

Once they stumbled outside, the paramedics were on top of them. Two of them helped DiNozzo off while another walked Gibbs away. Ducky was waiting for him at the ambulance.

"Where were you?" The sniper asked as the M.E checked him over.

"Some office building. The police are there now, Jethro. I'm glad you and Anthony made it out of there. That bomb was meant to kill."

"I know, Duck."

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, running over and throwing her arms around his neck. "You're alright!"

"I won't be if you keep hugging me like that," the older man smiled and kissed her cheek.

"This was all a setup. I wish I could have figured that out before all this happened," Abs looked at her feet.

"It's fine. We're all alive, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I guess." The forensics specialist still looked downcast, but didn't say anything else. She flinched and looked over in the direction of the other ambulances when a loud, barking cough broke out. "It looks like Tony isn't taking the smoke too well,"

"I'll go and see if there's anything to be done about that cough. If not, he's going to be absolutely miserable." Doctor Mallard walked off.

"It's so easy to forget that he survived the plague," Abby mumbled, sitting down next to Gibbs.

The older man nodded. "He'll live."

"I know. We all will." Abs brightened up slightly. "I never got to tell you that I found them just before that man kidnapped me. The Measons hadn't called anyone for three months, so I looked into it. They had been calling the people that took us with a separate number. The head honcho was some guy over a large corporation, I think. I'd heard the name before."

"Who?"

"Justin Smith. His company made banking software." She could see that Gibbs was trying to figure out why the man would be after DiNozzo. "Maybe he was after Tony for an arrest a while back?"

"No," the older man began. "It could have been to get back at his father. I know that Smith had a conflict with Senior a while back."

"Really? All this to get back at Senior?"

"Some people will go to extreme lengths to cause pain for someone they hate."

"Probably wouldn't cause Tony's father much pain," Abby said bitterly.

"I know, Abs. I know." Gibbs wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Three hours later, the team was back at headquarters. DiNozzo hadn't stopped coughing since they left the crime scene, even though he was doing all he could to keep himself from doing so.

"So why was the guy after me?" He asked once Ziva and Gibbs returned from interrogating the suspect.

"Your father got into some trouble with the man. He wanted revenge." The sniper responded.

Tony began to laugh, but it soon turned into coughing and gasping for air. "Wouldn't be very much of a revenge," he ground out once he could control his breathing again.

"That's what I was thinking," Abby said, patting his back.

"Smith didn't know that," McGee said. "At least he didn't manage to carry out that plan very well."

"I wonder how he got his entire staff in on it," Jimmy said thoughtfully. "You'd think someone would say no."

"They'd lose their job if they did, mister Palmer." Ducky said. "This reminds me of a time when…" Everyone ignored the rest.

"What now?" Ziva asked.

"Send him and everyone involved to prison, then go back to our usual work." Gibbs stated.

"Sounds good to me," DiNozzo shrugged before taking a sip of water to try and keep himself from coughing again.

Vance appeared on the balcony. "Case closed, team. Go home and get some rest."

Everyone nodded and grabbed their things before leaving, one by one. During the elevator ride down, Tony smiled to himself.

_People would _definitely_ care if I disappeared today._


End file.
